Women Empowering Women: The Ripple Effect

I remember the day I realized that no matter where we grow up in the world, what language we speak, or what we believe, our foundations are inherently the same.

I was at a summer camp in Moldova, sitting at a table with a group of orphan teenagers.

Every day, for a week, we met at the same time and place to journal together.

I was sitting across from a beautiful brown-haired, blue-eyed girl named Diana, who looked about 15 years old. She always sat next to the same boy—I saw them hold hands, write notes back and forth, and giggle flirtatiously. Her attention was usually on him, rather than writing. She reminded me of myself when I was her age.

You know, boy crazy.

On this particular day, I was discussing self-love. I led by example, writing down 10 qualities that I love about myself. I explained that when I struggle with rejection, loneliness and feeling less than good enough, this practice helps remind me of my uniqueness and worth.

On this day, she listened.–

I watched as she opened her journal, for the first time, and made a list of things she liked about herself. She was focused—one by one, she saturated her page with words that defined her individuality. Once finished, she tore the page out and put it in her pocket, then looked up at me with a warm smile that seemed to say “thank you.”